


Rose-Colored

by Rainbow_multi



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Multi, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:22:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23408983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainbow_multi/pseuds/Rainbow_multi
Summary: It's funny how sometimes you can go from hating each other to craving the other's embrace.
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Mike Wheeler
Kudos: 16





	1. One

Mike Wheeler sat in his basement, his friends scattered around as they all talked about random things. The current topic being the upcoming school year. Mike wasn’t too thrilled, he had never been a fan of school, but if his friends enjoyed it he thought he would at least try to show a little bit of interest. 

He couldn’t help but roll his eyes as Lucas slung his arm around Max. It honestly amazed him how the two were still together, they had been on and off since middle school. Yet here they were, snuggled up on Mikes’s couch.

“Awe, jealous, Wheeler?” Max teasingly said, having obviously seen the eye roll. He flipped her off, Lucas doing the same back to him.

“As if,” Mike said in response, pretending to gag. “You two are gross.” Dustin hummed in response, barely glancing up from his cell phone. Max shrugged, kissing Lucas on the cheek just because she knew it annoyed the other two. 

Mike shook his head, quickly flipping over the comic book in his hand as it appeared that their conversation had come to an end. This would be there last day of summer, school started the next day. 

After everyone left Mike walked up to his room, seeing a picture that brought a fond memory to the front of his mind. It was a picture of the party from Halloween a couple of years ago. He couldn’t help but smile, things had been so different since Will moved away. Hell, things had been different since before then. Then his memory changed, he felt the heartache from when he realized Will had gone missing. The heartache from when he lost El. The heartache from when they moved.

That night he fell asleep while thinking of them. Of his friends. Sure, he acted like a hardass, but the kid was covering up for all the fucked up shit he had gone through. Being brave was easier than being vulnerable.

Max didn’t fall asleep as easy that night. Her mind was racing, but she didn’t know why. Something just felt, off. She tried to push the random, intruding thoughts out of her mind but it only resulted in a restless sleep.

Almost too soon her alarm went off, she felt like she had slept for maybe five minutes. When she found the energy to pull away the covers she sat up, stretching and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. In all honesty, she could care less about what she looked like for the first day of school. While most other girls were wearing nice outfits and doing their makeup she had just simply pulled on a t-shirt and some jeans before brushing through her hair. 

After she was ready she quickly walked through the kitchen, grabbing an apple for breakfast and heading out the door. Her skateboard was propped up near the door, she quickly slung it under her arm and started towards the school.

Mrs. Wheeler knocked on Mike’s bedroom door for what seemed like the hundredth time, she was mumbling something about him needing to get his ass out of bed before she dragged him out of it. He grumbled something under his breath, finally pulling himself out of bed.

Sitting on his desk chair was an outfit that his mom had set up earlier the day before. She always said things about “wanting her children to look presentable”, and Mike had never been a fan of the outfits she picked out. He had to give it to her, this one wasn’t too bad, just a simple black and white sweater with some jeans.

“Look at you!” His mother practically gushed, holding a camera as he made his way down the stairs. He covered his face, not wanting to be photographed.

“Mom, you know I hate pictures!” He lowered his arm at the bottom of the stairs and she snapped the photo anyway.

“Doesn’t matter,” She set the camera down, walking into the kitchen where Holly sat eating a bowl of cereal. “It’s tradition, now eat breakfast and hurry up. You need to drop Holly off at school this morning.”

When the two had eaten breakfast and said their goodbyes to their parents they walked to Mike’s car, Holly climbing into the passenger seat. Mike played his music loudly, ignoring Holly’s protests about it being too loud before he dropped her off at her school building and driving to his own.

Max was already sat in her homeroom class, sad to see that no one she could tolerate was yet in there. As if on cue Mike Wheeler walked in, Dustin behind him. Great, she had to deal with those nerds. She rolled her eyes teasingly as they sat next to her.

“Ooh, who’d you guys dress up for?” She asked, leaning forward and resting her chin on her palm.

“I clearly dressed up for Mrs. Norlan.” Said Dustin jokingly, tugging on the sleeves of his jacket. Max snorted, glancing over to their teacher who looked way past the age of retirement.

The snort set Mike and Dustin into a fit of laughter, and suddenly Max felt better about the upcoming school year. She smiled, shaking her head at the two as class finally began.

Mrs. Norlan gave a speech about how the school year would go, the same old thing as usual. Then came the interesting part, clubs and activities. Max usually tried to join some, wanting to fill up her after school hours to stay out of the house. The boys had been trying to get her to join the film club, and it honestly didn’t sound like too bad of an idea, but she’d never admit that to them of course.

Once homeroom was done Max had found that signed up for film club, much to Dustin’s surprise. He was not going to leave her alone about that. But she had also signed up for a creative writing club. She didn’t know why, but it just sparked her interest.

Max stepped into the hallway, ready to head to her next class. Mike was walking beside her but stepped aside as she felt someone poke her in the ribs. She turned, slapping their arm before she realized who it was.

“You fucking asshole, stalker!” She pushed Lucas who put his arms up in playful defense. God, he was a dork, but she loved him. Max couldn’t help but smile as she walked into her classroom which Lucas and Mike were also in.

Mike sat down on the other side of Lucas, who sat next to Max. Mike didn’t know why, but he was almost angry about how carefree the two were about their relationship. Maybe it had something to do with him missing El, or maybe it was just the fact that he was kinda lonely. Whatever it was it was stupid, Lucas was his best friend and Max was a huge nerd! He shouldn’t be feeling jealousy towards their relationship. But, then again, he just wanted someone like they had each other.


	2. Two

By the end of the week, Max was more than ready for the weekend. School hadn’t been hard per se, but she hadn’t missed the snarky remarks from the kids in her school who were deemed as popular. They gave her headaches, why did popularity in school even matter? Although, she couldn’t be one to complain as she did have respect from most of the students.

The only thing that had Max going straight home after film club was the fact that Lucas had invited her, and the rest of their friend group, to a party. She wouldn’t lie, a party did sound kind of nice right now, maybe it would help her get out of this post-summer funk. 

Lucas was to be picking her up around 7, which was only an hour away. Quickly she threw her hair into a messy bun and pulled on a sweater as well as a decent pair of jeans. Maybe it wasn’t a ‘party’ outfit, but she’d rather be comfortable than dressed up. After thinking it over she put on some mascara, it was honestly the most makeup she put on at times, she just liked the way it made her eyes pop.

Her phone started ringing, the words from “Oh No!” by Marina and the Diamonds filling the quiet void of her room. She answered after absentmindedly humming along to the song, a smile spreading on her face as she looked out the window and saw Lucas, Dustin, and Mike waiting for her in Lucas’ car.

“I’ll be right there, nerds.” She said, hanging up with a chuckle as she heard Dustin yell something about them not being nerds. 

Mike got out of the passenger seat and climbed into the back next to Dustin as Max ran out of the house to meet them. He waved a little, not in the mood to be a complete asshole. Max got into the car and Lucas pulled away from the curb, driving them to their destination.

Once they arrived they could already see the street filled with cars and the house that had kids loitering on the front porch. Mike was already regretting coming along with the other three. 

As the teens walked up the house Mike nervously fiddled with his sleeves, there was just too much going on right now and he knew that he was destined to be left behind by his friends at some point of the night. He wouldn’t blame them though, they just wanted to have fun. 

“Hey, Lucas!” A boy that none of the others recognized ran up to the group, high-fiving Lucas, giving the others a look before remembering who they were. “Oh, what’s up, guys! Drinks are in the kitchen, don’t destroy my house.” He walked off, giving the group a thumbs up before disappearing in the crowd.

Max sighed as she saw a disappointed look on Lucas’ face as the boy left. He clearly wanted to hang out with the team tonight.

“Go.” She said softly, pushing him lightly in the direction his friend had went. “I’ll just hang out with these losers!” Max looked over to Dustin and Mike with a small smile and a thumbs up. The two boys nodded in agreement.

“If you two start bickering I’m out,” Dustin said, raising his eyebrows as if asking if they understood him. “Now, let’s go get some drinks,” Dustin said, turning towards the kitchen as Lucas finally left the three by themselves.

Dustin leads the way to the kitchen, Max and Mike having to walk close behind in order to not lose him among the teens filling the house. They didn’t have many options for drinks, most kids brought their own, but Max decided on mixing vodka and orange juice. Mike did the same as Max, not knowing what else to drink, and Dustin just settled with a beer. 

They found a spot to sit, it was a small window bay that fit all of them. Max brought one of her knees up to her chest, letting her arm draped over it. Mike watched as everyone danced, swaying to the music slightly as something caught Dustin's eye and he left the two. Mike sighed, hoping Max wouldn’t end up leaving him. He glanced over to her, noticing that she was also swaying along to the music.

“Wanna dance, nerd?” She asked simply, her eyes drifting over to his as she stood up and offered her hand. Mike shrugged, taking her hand and following her through the crowded living room.

“I’m not much of a dancer,” He said with a chuckle as they found a spot to dance. “I’m sorry in advance for how bad this is gonna be.” Max chuckled in response, dropping his hand as she started to dance.

The song playing was “Tongue Tied” by GROUPLOVE. Max was just dancing, feeling the beat of the music as Mike tried to follow in her lead. It was a lot harder to do when you were scrawny and lanky like him. 

Mike did eventually find the rhythm of the song as he and Max danced around, acting as if the drunken teens surrounding them were nowhere to be found. As he drank more of his drink he danced more freely. Liquid courage. Max took his hands as she started jumping around, moving his arms in an attempt to get him to dance with her. He eventually followed suit, laughing as he mimicked her movements.

Once the song was done Mike and Max made their way to the window bay, laughing as they sat down.

“Who knew you could dance, Mikey?” Max teased, smirking at him. Mike rolled his eyes, pushing her with his shoulder. 

“You can’t tell anyone! It’s one of my greatest secrets.” He smiled with a triumphant nod as they both began laughing.

Maybe Max wasn’t as bad as he tried to make her seem, Mike was actually beginning to have a lot of fun. Sure, things were far different from when they were kids, but this reminded him of when he used to hang out with Will, Dustin, and Lucas when they were little. They all had no cares in the world. They were naive little kids, god, life was so much simpler then.

Max glanced up, catching a glimpse of Lucas. She smiled and waved him over before she stood up, starting to walk away.

“I’ll see you later, nerd.” She said to Mike before disappearing into the sea of bodies. Now he was alone.


End file.
